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Norn
This race of towering hunters experienced a great defeat when the Ice Dragon drove them from their glacial homeland. Nevertheless, they won't let one lost battle—however punishing—dampen their enthusiasm for life and the hunt. They know that only the ultimate victor achieves legendary rewards. - In Game Description. The norn are a 9-foot tall race that currently inhabit the central Shiverpeak Mountains, with some living in or near the abandoned dwarven structures. The individualistic norn live for the hunt, so their tracking, stealth and killing skills make them invaluable allies in any combat situation. The largest gathering of norn one can expect to find outside trading posts is in hunting parties that have united to combat a powerful foe. Character creation Selecting a norn character will start players off in the tutorial The Great Hunt where the players gather trophies to participate in the great hunt. During character creation, a player can customize a norn's physical appearance and answer three race specific biography questions which affect their personal story: * what is the most important quality of a great hero. * what happened at a recent celebratory moot in Hoelbrak. * which of the four main Spirits of the Wild offered its guardianship. The norn home instance is in the Hunter's Hearth in the Great Lodge in Hoelbrak. Norn racial skills are not related to their spirits. The player's choice of totem does not restrict the skills and abilities available to the character. Physiology The norn normally have the appearance of large humans, but they are able to shift into a were-creature of one of the Spirits of the Wild. In their humanoid form they are not only tall, at around nine feet, but their proportions are much broader and more heavily muscled than a typical human. Thruln the Lost describes the norn as being giants along with the Jotun. Norn can also have long lives. A norn might live to 120 and maintain their good health and vitality for a long time, though very few die of old age. Norn have a broad range of skin colors, and light-skinned norn living in Lion's Arch have their skin tanned by the sun. According to Kranxx, norn generate a considerable amount of body heat at the slightest exertion. In their transformed shape they take on an upright half-norn half-animal form, taking after one of the animals of the Spirits of the Wild. The were-form is furred, fanged and clawed and grants the norn attributes depending on the animal they transform into. The transformation between norn and were-form is described as a blurring between the two with the form transformed into gaining a solid appearance over a short period of time. Any clothing or armor worn by the norn is covered by the were-form. It is not known if wounds or poison persist through the transformation. Although it is implied by some norn in Guild Wars that the norn are able to interbreed with humans, norn-human hybrids are not possible because the five main races cannot cross-fertilize each other. Culture Norn culture is highly individualistic with a focus on personal success and glory—particularly when gained from the hunt or in a battle. The norn do not fear death as they believe the bold and strong can achieve immortality, but they do fear they will be weak and end up forgotten. As a result each norn seeks to prove themselves, to build their legend through feats of individual valor and great victories. Every norn hopes their legend will be told by the skaald and celebrated at a moot with story and song. Norn usually have a great sense of personal honor, for a norn without respect from others is already forgotten. For many norn, the focus on prestige means they're willing to accept any challenge which will prove their worth. They will never give up on their battle, quarry or friends, even if it means years spent tackling a strong enemy or difficult task. Yet for other norn the pursuit of prestige translates to bragging, bullying, unwise snap decisions and an unwillingness to listen to reason. Norn are a hearty, proud people—quick to anger but then quick to forgive. They are, by their nature, a race of optimists, keeping a positive outlook even though they have been driven from their homelands. A setback is seen as just another challenge to overcome. They respect those who can best them in a fight so brawling among norn is common. Drinking alcohol, often to excess, is also a large part of norn culture. Being drunk and fighting is not an uncommon combination, for example, norn alemoots feature competitions of 'skill' which require the competitors to be very drunk to compete. In modern times, the norn hold an annual grand moot, called the Great Hunt. The Great Hunt features a dangerous beast for fighters and hunters to try to kill, as well as what is usually at a typical moot. In order to join in on the Great Hunt, a norn must prove himself worthy by presenting a trophy from a recent kill. The norn also hold, at least historically, a specialized moot called an alemoot, which specializes in testing how much one can drink and still complete an obstacle course of sorts. A norn might proudly trace their worthy ancestors through many generations and may pass a common name through a family (such as Olaf Olafsson, seventh son of Olaf) but a great ancestry and family connections do not grant automatic respect to a norn. Everyone is judged not by their lineage or associated group but by what deeds they have done. As a result the norn are often tolerant of an individual to whom other races might treat with hostility by association, for example the Sons of Svanir are tolerated. There is no such thing as infamy to the norn. For example, a norn who achieves respect from their peers through deeds that might be considered "underhanded" by human standards has still accomplished what the norn value most, and is seen as equal to a norn who has performed more "respectable" acts. Two norn will marry, but only if they are of equal status. During the wedding, someone must speak on behalf of the couple in order to show that they are a worthy match for each other. Despite the cold of their homes, the norn are often only lightly clad. This exposes skin which is frequently elaborately tattooed in Celtic style motifs. Religion The norn have a shamanistic religion where they revere totem animals of the Spirits of the Wild, the spirits of the strongest, bravest, wisest, or most cunning animals of the Shiverpeaks. The Great Spirit is Bear, who is seen as the strongest of all the spirits and is said to have granted the norn with the ability to 'become the bear'. The worship of the spirits Snow Leopard, Raven and Wolf is also prevalent because of the assistance they gave the norn in the past on their exodus south. There are many other totem spirits among the norn, such as Ox, Eagle, and Wurm, but they are not as widely revered. Each spirit has any number of shaman. A shaman devotes themselves to a spirit's sacred area, serving as guardians to that area and teachers of the lessons of that spirit. The four most important spirits have huge Spirit Lodges built in their honor in Hoelbrak; these are governed by the most powerful shamans – the Speakers of Hoelbrak. Each spirit animal has a Havroun shaman, a single norn with a connection to the spirit through the mists. As with other aspects of their lives the norn take an individual approach to their religion. Groups of norn, such as families, larger lodges or isolated homesteads tend to revere a particular animal spirit over the others, calling forth its special attributes so they might emulate it. This means in some areas a particular spirit is well known where in others it is not. There is some tension between the adherents of some spirits; for example, adherents to Bear might see Raven's approach as deceptive and therefore weak and dishonorable. The norn draw strength from their totem beasts, calling on them in battle enabling the transformation of the norn to their were-form. They do not worship the spirits as greater beings but venerate them for the strength that they bring to the norn that calls them. While they do not worship or revere the Six Human Gods, they do acknowledge them and their power. However, they do not refer to them by the names humans give them; instead, they refer to them as the "Spirits of Action" as a whole and by what they govern individually; for example, Balthazar is War, and Kormir is Knowledge. Government The norn do not have a central government or nation. Most norn resist being followers and will not kneel before anyone. The closest thing to leadership comes from the respect gained from other norn by those who have performed significant, widely recognized heroic deeds. Those norn with exceptional strength and prowess in battle might establish a homestead, but they are not considered rulers of those living within it. Knut Whitebear is the master of Hoelbrak Lodge, charged with keeping Hoelbrak safe. His sons lead the Wolfborn which provides something of a peace keeping role in Hoelbrak. Names Most norn follow a Northern European or Viking-style first name system, though some like the famous explorer Captain Romke and his crew have Dutch and Frisian names. Their surnames can vary in a multitude of styles. Norn without any achievements or legends have surnames after one of their parents (father/mother's first name followed by -sson or -sdottir or a variant thereof); this is most commonly seen in children, and they're named after the more famous of their parents even if they do not like said parent (e.g., Braham Eirsson). Surnames do not get adopted from generation to generation and they can be changed by the individual to fit their own personal legend (e.g., a famous Wolfborn member took the surname Wolfsdottir); married couples may not always share surnames either (though some may, e.g., Knut and Gaerta Whitebear). Some norn may also take titles instead of a surname if it fits them and their legend more (e.g., Borje the Sun Chaser). History Little is known of the history of the norn before they were first encountered in Guild Wars: Eye of the North. The origin of the norn race isn't known, but there are theories. The kodan believe the norn may be descended from a group of kodan hunters separated from the tribes during the great storm, becoming lesser creatures for giving up being bears. This contradicts the norn belief their ability to transform was granted to them by the Bear Spirit. It isn't clear which, if either, of these is true. Thruln the Lost, a jotun storyteller, claims that the jotun and norn once ruled the Shiverpeak Mountains during an "Age of Giants," but both races fell from their supremacy; the norn at this point turned to the Spirits of the Wild who helped the norn stabilize their culture while the jotun fell into a primitive nature. The norn have always been a nomadic people focused on hunting and individual goals and pursuits. For a brief while the norn were united as a race in the years after they assisted with the downfall of the the Great Destroyer in Guild Wars, but it did not take them long to revert to a nomadic, individualistic lifestyle. This did not stop them from convincingly holding their lands in the far north Shiverpeaks against invading charr warbands. Their defense earned the respect of the charr and something of a cooperative peace emerged from their mutual respect for each other which has lasted for 200 years. As early as 1078 AE the still dormant Elder Dragon Jormag's influence was already being felt among the norn. Svanir was the first to hear Jormag's call, becoming permanently transformed into an ice bear form until his death. But over the years many followed Jormag's call and Svanir's footsteps forming the Sons of Svanir. They worship Jormag as the ultimate totem spirit. In 1165 AE, Jormag awoke in the Shiverpeaks, raising and transforming creatures of ice and snow to serve him. Tackling Jormag as individuals did not allow the norn to hold their homes and they were forced to travel south into the mountains abandoned by the dwarves. Here they established new homes, found new hunting grounds and made new enemies. Here among the dwarven ruins, they met the dredge who they fight to this day for dominance over parts of the Shiverpeaks.